Study: The Ethics of Transhumanism
'Surplus Improvement': A Qualitative Exploration of Student Attitudes Toward Transhumanism, Transhuman Technologies and Related Issues.'Surplus Improvement': A Qualitative Exploration of Student Attitudes Toward Transhumanism, Transhuman Technologies and Related Issues.
By Adam SinickiABSTRACT
Transhumanism is a school of thought that promotes the use of new technologies to enhance the human condition mentally and physically. While many papers have been written outlining precisely the arguments for and against transhuman ideals, nothing has been done to establish what the layman's perception of them might be. This study then used focus group interviews of students to explore their views on such a potentially life-altering concept. Students were chosen as the sample due to their eligibility for transhuman procedures and for practical reason. The focus groups were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis revealing five major themes relating to prior knowledge, emotional reactions, individual concerns, socioeconomic concerns and moral concerns. Generally participants were found to be against the movement, though some saw it as permissible to certain degrees and under certain circumstances. It is suggested that further work needs to be done to raise awareness of the issue, discover exactly under what circumstances it would be considered permissible and to clarify some of the more cloudy definitions within the subject.
OVERVIEW
The first major finding of this study was that transhumanism is not a subject that the students in these focus groups are not fully aware of and nor are they aware of the technologies currently being developed. Once the concept had been fully explained, a general assessment of the themes and subthemes raised in the discussion gives the impression that participants are opposed to the movement. This opposition seems to stem from several issues.
In particular participants were wary of the socio-economic implications of transhuman technologies and repeated many of the concerns voiced by bioconservatives such as Fukayame (2004). The two biggest concerns here were regarding the population and a potential 'divide' between posthumans and 'ordinary' non users. This latter idea was particularly unacceptable to participants who expressed a need for equality and a 'level playing field'. Other threats included a potential lack of motivation to improve oneself (and so society as a whole) naturally and the moral consideration of 'fairness', with most objections mirroring those voiced previously by bioconservative authors. Others were mindful of transhumanism being used as a weapon by governments, criminals or terrorists. Partly this might be a result of current issues colouring their perceptions. Some of these fears also seemed to stem from participants anchoring their understanding in science fiction which commonly portrays similar technologies going wrong or leading to dystopian futures.
Understanding also came from analogous current technologies however such as IVF and human cloning and this led to more acceptance although reluctance still came from the perception of transhuman technologies as 'unnecessary' and therefore unacceptable. That is to say that in cases where a patient was injured or under threat of disease (as is the case with much of the analogous technology) the very same procedures would be considered permissible. For this reason comparison was also drawn to cosmetic surgery and performance enhancing drugs which are also medical techniques that serve to enhance rather than heal. Here participants sometimes expressed the view that as these technologies are acceptable (at least legally) and have so far proven relatively harmless, then maybe similar transhuman technologies should be too. In keeping with this concept, most participants stated that they would consider using transhuman technologies if 'everyone else was'.
Transhumanism was also considered acceptable under certain other conditions: where users still had to put work in to improve their abilities, or where it seemed as though a small alteration could greatly improve a user's happiness. Some procedures/techniques were discussed favorably that could only loosely be defined as transhumanism but that were nevertheless related. These included the Nintendo DS 'Brain Training' game and Oscar Pistorius, the athlete who tried to compete in the Olympics using bionic legs (Wolbring, 2008). Through discussion it was discovered that transhumanism was subject to 'fuzzy' definitions and that plastic surgery or caffeine could be considered forms transhumanism. This seems to stem from deeper issues surrounding definitions of commonly used terms such as 'humanness' or 'enhancement', both of which are subjective to a degree. A similar observation was made by McNamee and Edwards (2005) who distinguish between 'strong and moderate conceptions' of transhumanism. These unclear definitions made it harder to assess the topic as a whole which suggests that dividing transhuman technologies into more manageable categories could make it easier for the general public to assess. This may also help consumers come to terms with the concept if it became mainstream and perhaps governments' law-making.
This study is not without limitations however, one of the biggest being the relatively
small sample and its relative homogeneity. Students were chosen for practical reasons and
because their generation is currently most likely to be affected by the technologies. However it
would be interesting to see whether non-students, or older or younger participants would respond
in similar or different ways. Specifically students may be more accustomed to critically assessing
such issues, while older participants may have more experience to draw on and may find it easier
to imagine being in the position to make decisions involving children or careers.Further evaluation of the study and its findings can be made in light of Elliott et al.'s guidelines for qualitative research (1999). It is important to note here how the researcher might have affected the direction of the focus groups and the selection of material for the themes (see the reflection box). Likewise, personal opinions and experience will have coloured the views of the participants and it is limiting that few explained the experiences that shaped their opinions. This effect is likely to have been minimal however as only one reported any previous knowledge of transhumanism. No attempt was made to assess the credibility of the themes and sub-themes, again due to restrictions of time and space. They make intuitive sense to this author and do appear to concur with the papers and studies mentioned in the introduction but would benefit from future review.
From here it seems the first step is to raise awareness of transhumanism, (particularly if it is as inevitable as was suspected within the groups), as this would allow individuals to make more informed decisions regarding the technologies and would lead to further research and preparation. One participant specifically stated a need for these technologies to be explained if they are to become accepted. Future studies could look at public opinions using a larger and more varied sample, perhaps through a survey or poll. It would also be beneficial to try and outline exactly which technologies are considered permissible and which are not and what regulations can be put in place to make sure they're controlled in a manner that pleases the most people. This could further be facilitated by coming to an agreement on exactly what constitutes 'transhumanism' and whether there are distinctions to be made within this category. Such categorisation would be most useful if based on data gathered from similar qualitative research. Generally more discussion and preparation is needed if transhuman technologies are going to be successfully handled when the time comes.
For a proposal for Transhumanism 'categories', visit the blog article here. To view the study in it's entirety (including one transcript from a focus group) it can be purchased from the NQR Productions Storefront. Alternatively, drop me a line.
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